The Ultimate Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

These chocolate zucchini muffins are wonderfully moist with an intense chocolate taste and delightful pockets of melted chocolate chips. I find them to be the perfect decadent treat and a truly fantastic way to use up fresh zucchini from the garden. If you love a rich, chocolatey bite that’s also incredibly tender, these are an absolute must make. They come together easily and are perfect for breakfast or dessert.

Baking with Zucchini Adds Wonderful Moisture

Using fresh, grated zucchini really makes baked goods shine, especially muffins, loaves, and cakes. These chocolate zucchini muffins are a perfect example. They boast a delicious chocolate flavor that isn’t overly sweet, and their texture is incredibly moist and tender. I just love how they bake up with perfectly domed tops. These muffins hit the sweet spot for me they have enough chocolate to satisfy a serious craving, but they aren’t so overwhelmingly rich that you couldn’t enjoy one with your morning coffee.

One of the best parts of baking with zucchini is the incredible moisture it adds to the batter. Zucchini itself has a very mild and delicate flavor, so you absolutely won’t taste it in the finished muffins. I personally prefer to grate my zucchini very finely. This helps it to almost completely disappear or “dissolve” into the batter as it bakes. It’s also quite important to gently remove some of the excess water from the grated zucchini. I find using a paper towel works really well for this. Just pat and gently squeeze out the extra liquid and any zucchini juice. You don’t need it to be completely dry, but you want to avoid it being soaking wet.

You don’t actually need to peel the zucchini before you grate it. The skin is thin and blends in perfectly well once the muffins are baked.

Crafting Delicious Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

This recipe is truly simple and very straightforward. You can easily make the batter by hand using just two bowls. For a clear explanation and visual guide (if you were following along with photos), I will walk you through the steps below. The process ensures tender, moist muffins every time.

Here is how I like to make these incredibly moist chocolate zucchini muffins.

• First, you will finely grate the zucchini. Make sure to gently squeeze out any extra liquid using a paper towel as I mentioned before. It shouldn’t be totally bone dry. You just want to get rid of the excessive moisture so it doesn’t make the batter too wet.
• Next, in a medium-sized bowl, I combine all the dry ingredients. This includes the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisking these together helps to break up any lumps in the cocoa powder. It also makes sure the baking soda and baking powder are spread out evenly. This helps the muffins rise beautifully.
• Then, in a separate, larger bowl, I whisk together the wet ingredients and the sugars. This involves the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and milk. Make sure you whisk well enough so that the sugar starts to dissolve and there are no distinct pieces of egg yolk visible. The oil and milk in this mixture really contribute to the wonderfully moist and tender texture we are aiming for in these muffins.
• Now, carefully pour the whisked dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Gently mix them together just until you no longer see any dry spots or flour lumps. The batter will likely look quite glossy at this point. It might also seem a bit thick or sticky. A rubber spatula is great for folding at first, then a quick whisk helps smooth it out a bit.
• Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the prepared grated zucchini and the chocolate chips. You will be able to see small pieces of the zucchini distributed throughout the batter. As the muffins bake, these pieces will soften and blend right in. You might notice that the batter seems a little thinner than some other muffin batters you’ve made. This is perfectly normal and exactly how it should be for this recipe.
• Carefully spoon the batter into a standard 12-cavity muffin pan that has been lined with paper liners. I like to fill each cup about three-quarters of the way full. Sometimes I fill them slightly more, closer to seven-eighths full, to get those nice tall tops.
• Finally, place the pan into your preheated oven to bake. They typically need about 20 to 25 minutes. You’ll know they are done when the tops look nicely rounded and baked. You can test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin. It should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached. Don’t worry if you hit a melted chocolate chip, that doesn’t count.

Common Questions About Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Here are answers to a few things people often ask about making these muffins.

Print